As part of our runner profile series we’re pleased to introduce Mark Rossini! We hope you enjoy getting to know Mark a bit better.
Mark Rossini came to running as training for chasing after a soccer ball! He played as a youth, in school and continued to play for most of his adulthood. Mark even met his wife on the pitch. Jan was also a soccer player in his indoor coed soccer league. He shared his love of soccer with his boys, Eric and Brian, and got them hooked on the sport as their coach. Mark chased that soccer ball around until age 55 when he decided to stick to running to avoid the inevitable injuries that come along with game.
Mark was born and lived most of his life in Connecticut. His early love was music and he played in 70’s rock bands as the requisite long-haired musician. He could be heard strumming the guitar or bass or playing piano in the bands and seriously considered studying music in college. His more analytical side won out and he opted for business school and graduated with an accounting degree from Bryant University. Accounting treated him well for 17 years and even gave him a chance to return to his musical roots as he served as a CFO for an entertainment group that owned a theater and invested in travelling Broadway shows. Then Mark changed careers and left accounting behind and moved to sales. He spent the next 21 years of his career in software sales and most of this time with IBM in various leadership roles. It was during his working years on the road when he turned to treadmill running. It could be possible that Mark owns the record for the most miles on hotel treadmills!
Mark and Jan purchased a home in April of 2016 in the Village of Osceola Hills. They were on vacation and were browsing houses when they found out the lots there were opening for sale. As they were looking a group of pelicans flew down and landed on the water nearby and made them fall in love with the area. Then the realtor advised Mark that the lots would sell out within days, so he found himself owning a home here and still having two years of work time ahead of him.
Since arriving in The Villages, Mark has been a consistent participant and supporter of TVRC. He has found that the group supports his effort to keep charity at the heart of his running activity. Mark’s running career has never been focused on awards. Instead, he uses his running to give back to others. His first half-marathon was part of the Hartford Marathon which was a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina relief. He had never done a run that long, but his buddy encouraged him. He ran his normal 5-mile course and then ran it a second time and took that as assurance that he could cover 13.1 miles. He and his friend Bill M. trained and ran the race together. His friend’s life was upended with the birth of his child who was born with Trisomy-13 and only lived a short time. Mark helped his friend start a non-profit to support families whose children had the disorder. Together, they used the Hartford Marathon & Half Marathon as a tool to raise money for this charity. Annually, hundreds of people came together to run and fundraise for families that needed assistance.
Mark’s favorite race is always the next one that gives him the chance to raise money for others.
The Villages Running Club 